UPDATE: FACT investigators have identified the two persons that died during the crash as 4 year old James Kleven, and 2 year old Natalie Kleven. They were the children of the woman that was driving the vehicle. Below is the full statement from the St. Joseph County Prosecutors Office:

St. Joseph County –On December 31, 2019, at  approximately 2:45 p.m., first responders were dispatched to report of a single vehicle crash into a retention pond. A minivan was driving eastbound on University Dr.  The driver failed to negotiate a curve, slid off the roadway, and went into a retention pond near the intersection of University Dr. and University Dr. Ct. The van contained the driver, Brooke Natalie Kleven, 31, of Granger, and her three children (a four year old, a two year old, and a 3 month old).

First responders were able to remove Ms. Kleven and two of the children (the 2 year old and the 4 year old), but not until they had been submerged for several minutes.  The infant (3 month old) could not be removed until the vehicle had been removed from the water.

Ms. Kleven and the 3 month old infant, Hendrix Kleven, were taken to local hospitals, where, at last update, they remained in critical condition.

Ms. Kleven’s four year old child, James Kleven, and her two year old child, Natalie Kleven, were transported to Memorial Hospital where they subsequently passed away on December 31st.

The St. Joseph County Fatal Crash Team (FACT) was activated, per protocol, to handle the investigation. Investigators are still investigating the cause of the crash, but road conditions were slippery at the time of the crash.

Original Story:

Two people died and two people are hospitalized after a vehicle ended up submerged in a retention pond.

First responders were called to the 600 block of University Drive in Granger when they found the minivan in the water.

Four people, a woman and three children, were inside at the time of the collision.

The St. Joseph County’s coroner says the two victims pronounced dead had died from drowning.

Road conditions were slick and snow-covered throughout the region due to the snowstorm that made its way through the region during the morning hours, but authorities did not immediately say whether the road conditions or weather were factors.

The two deceased individuals died at the hospital according to 95.3 MNC’s reporting partners at ABC 57.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.